The hidden burden of an overload

This article was published in the second edition of La Résonance magazine.

In addition to the ever-increasing workload and number of patients, a multitude of invisible factors overload or cause distress among healthcare professionals.

Tons of paperwork to fill out

Statistics add an additional burden to healthcare professionals, but they do not add value to care. They merely reassure administrations, who then feel they are measuring the work on the floor.

Constantly on high alert

Operating with a shortage of staff means that a crisis is never far away and that emergencies must be continuously prioritized. This can become very stressful.

Tasks to prioritize that involve abandoning certain fundamentals of the profession

Listening to patients, reassuring families, and providing support is not optional and it takes time.

Multiple obligations not related to care

Training and evaluating unqualified staff hired to lighten the workload, looking for parking in home care, etc. This is part of the job and difficult to measure.

Feeling of powerlessness and frustration when we can’t provide the best care

There is a contradiction between what we should do and what we can do, which can create a moral imbalance.

The integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into the health network highlights the need to make visible what is not visible. AI relies on concrete data: what is not measured simply does not exist for it. Hence, if a hidden overload remains ignored, AI will not be a solution, but rather an aggravating factor.